The Axl Badwater APJ-820 Bass Guitar has a distressed body, and boasts EMG-designed split and single-coil pickups—the preferred brand of many of today's best bassists. Players looking for a bass with hot features and a look that's anything but ordinary need look no further. No area of the AXL Badwater bass was spared from the destruction—even the headstock and backplate have vintage distressing. The Axl Badwater APJ-820 Bass has the look of a of a well-seasoned thumper. Case sold separately.

This is a review of my experience (so far) with the AXL APJ-820 bass guitar. This bass is comparable to the Squier/Fender P-Bass special with one single and one split coil...Read complete review

This is a review of my experience (so far) with the AXL APJ-820 bass guitar. This bass is comparable to the Squier/Fender P-Bass special with one single and one split coil pickup. The longer I play this guitar, the more I am impressed with it. I got this bass in late August, so I've been playing it long enough to form some opinions of it. When I first received the guitar, I was very impressed with the quality through out at this price point. Almost unbelieveable, really. as some folks have mentioned, the machine heads are probably one of the weakest points of this guitar, followed closely by the bridge. Both, however are serviceable, and should be fine for normal use. No different really, than any others in this price range. Some folks have mentioned a "ping" when tuning. This is not the machine heads, but rather the round wound strings sticking in the plastic nut. A drop of "Drop'll Do Ya" silicone lube in each nut channel took care of that problem, and tuning is now smooth and quiet. After playing it a week "as is" to get a feel for the guitar, I adjusted the truss rod to flatten the neck out to my liking. I also lowered the saddles, and set the intonation. Now this thing rocks! The pickups are very high quality, and sound great. The pots are smooth and work well, and when you change volume and tone, they actually work, unlike some other inexpensive guitars and basses. The strings that came on it are actually decent, I wore them out, and replaced them with my favorites, but hey, they were not horrible to start with, as so many others at this price point.I got the Crackle finish, and under the lights, some folks are fooled into thinking it REALLY is an old guitar. I do set them straight, and let them know that it is one companies take on these new "instant vintage" look guitars and tell them about others doing it. This leads me to an interesting point. AXL also sells these and all their guitars with a normal new look. They call the basses in that series "Marquee" and they also look nice, so if the "Bad Water" look doesn't do it for you, be aware you can get shiny new looking ones also. I hope Musician's Friend starts carrying these soon. This guitar will not replace my Fender Jazz basses, but, it is a fun alternative to them, and I have used it on stage just to see the reaction, and, it does get one! It is also worth noting that you can get six of these for what EACH of my Jazzes cost, and yet, I'm happy with it. I would recommend this guitar with NO reservations to anyone. Pros know that you get what you pay for, but, I can honestly say with this particular bass guitar, you do get a bit more! Have fun!

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I was asked to play bass in a pinch, so I looked around for an affordable bass with killer looks. I settled on this one in the off white finish, and although there...Read complete review

I was asked to play bass in a pinch, so I looked around for an affordable bass with killer looks. I settled on this one in the off white finish, and although there are some minor problems I am happy my purchase. I was very excited to see the aged white finish, unfortunately though it is really more of a worn natural. It's not white at all, so beware! I figured I'd give the bass a try, and I wasn't disappointed. The P/J combination of pickups can achieve some cool tones, and the instrument seems sturdy. I've gigged with it once without a backup, and it stood up just fine. The only other complain that I have is that although the aged hardware is cool, the tuners could really use some improvement. Overall, this isn't a bad bass, but I think it will suit me best as a backup for the future. Recommend for its killer looks for a low price!

I was asked to play bass in a pinch, so I looked around for an affordable bass with killer looks. I settled on this one in the off white finish, and although there are some minor problems I am happy my purchase. I was very excited to see the aged white finish, unfortunately though it is really more of a worn natural. It's not white at all, so beware! I figured I'd give the bass a try, and I wasn't disappointed. The P/J combination of pickups can achieve some cool tones, and the instrument seems sturdy. I've gigged with it once without a backup, and it stood up just fine. The only other complain that I have is that although the aged hardware is cool, the tuners could really use some improvement. Overall, this isn't a bad bass, but I think it will suit me best as a backup for the future. Recommend for its killer looks for a low price!

I bought this because my church needed a bass player and i new how to play but didnt have bass anymore. I saw this bass, like the reveiws, and the reliced look. When i got it the first thing i notice was how bad the neck was. Somthing wasnt level where the neck and the body met because the neck was leaning so far forward it was immpossible to play. so took the neck off, and put strips of paper in there to level it. The neck was straight, so restrung it and the strings made neck to bow in so i took the strings back off and ended up bowing the out to make up for the stings and now its straight. hardly stays in tune. Buy a better Bass!!,

I was looking for a beater and came across this thing. All the reviews looked good so I thought what the hell, and bought one based off the reviews, and the way it looked in the photos. What a mistake! I know its cheap enough, but you would get more satisfaction using the money for toilet paper. First off the neck is so warped there is not enough adjustment in the truss rod to even come close to getting it half way playable. The tuners "all of them" are very sloppy, and it feels like a toy in your hands. Maybe I just got a really bad one or something. However, the body was very usable. So I ended up taking some spare parts I had, and rebuilt it. I put a mighty mite jazz neck on it, some schaller tunners, a heavey duty bridge, new pots "this bass come with really cheap wiring" and bought some seymour duncan quarter pound pick ups. Now I have a very playble bass that looks cool, but buy the time you factor in the cost of the parts needed, and the labor to install them I should have just went out and got a 600 dollar bass. Do yourself a favor....... Dont get this thing unless you have a box of old parts in your closet, and like tinkering. like I said, I know it's inexpensive, But it's just a toy.

I bought this Axl APJ-820 bass with the crackle finish "used like new" for 60% of the regular price as a back up to my mexican fender P bass that I've had for 6 years. The Axl is ok, but not as good as the fender in any regard. The Axl was bowed and I had to get it set up for $35 and the stock strings sucked so I spent another $15 on new strings...I condsidered buying the Squire Modified Jaguar bass from a local shop which is in the Axl's price range and probably should've gone with that. Here's my overall comparison on a scale of 1 to 10 of the Axl and Squier (A = Axl) (S = Squier).Bridge: Both do the job, nothing special (A 7) (S 7)Pickups and tone: Axl gives a good punch, so does Squire. Axl has better low end, but Squire has more tone options... A 8 S 8. Stock strings: A 3 S 7. Axl's were dead. Neck: A 8 S 8. Both are pretty good. Tuning keys: A: 4 S: 7 Axl's are very tight. Headstock: Axl looks cooler to me. A 9 S 7. Tone and volume knobs: Axl's are scratchy A 4 S 8Squier's give you an individual tone knob for each pickup. Input jack: A 5 S 7. Axl buzzed.Looks: A 10, S 8 (which is why I bought it in the first place.)Resale: I have to go with the Squier. Weight: Both are light and easy on the back. A 9 S 9Feel: The axl leans down a lot. The Squier stays on about a 45 degree angle. A 6, S 8. Overall, the Axl is an ok starter or back up bass. If you're in love with the looks and willing to put some cash into it, go with the Axl. Otherwise, take the Squier.

Used one of these at a gig when my Fender P-bass cut out on me at a previous gig. (Fenders finest for you there). Anywho, my Fender still wasn't out of the shop by the time my next gig had rolled around so I borrowed this one from a friend. I was just expecting it to be mediocore, after all its only about $200. Needless to say I was actually pleasently suprised that it had great tone and that I enjoyed playing it. It just seemed to have more personality than my P-bass. Having the Jazz pickup option was awesome. It performed well for the gig and I almost didn't want to give it back I liked it so much. It did have two cons though: 1) It was a little unbalanced. The neck tended to want to nose dive a bit.2) The jazz pickup seem to have a bit of a buzz. I suspect a grounding problem. Probably a extremely quick fix. Despite the 2 cons it is a great bass at a great price. I went out and bought the Marqee Jazz bass because I was wanting a full jazz option but I plan to pick up one of these babies in the very near future! Fun little bass!

This is a review of my experience (so far) with the AXL APJ-820 bass guitar. This bass is comparable to the Squier/Fender P-Bass special with one single and one split coil pickup. The longer I play this guitar, the more I am impressed with it. I got this bass in late August, so I've been playing it long enough to form some opinions of it. When I first received the guitar, I was very impressed with the quality through out at this price point. Almost unbelieveable, really. as some folks have mentioned, the machine heads are probably one of the weakest points of this guitar, followed closely by the bridge. Both, however are serviceable, and should be fine for normal use. No different really, than any others in this price range. Some folks have mentioned a "ping" when tuning. This is not the machine heads, but rather the round wound strings sticking in the plastic nut. A drop of "Drop'll Do Ya" silicone lube in each nut channel took care of that problem, and tuning is now smooth and quiet. After playing it a week "as is" to get a feel for the guitar, I adjusted the truss rod to flatten the neck out to my liking. I also lowered the saddles, and set the intonation. Now this thing rocks! The pickups are very high quality, and sound great. The pots are smooth and work well, and when you change volume and tone, they actually work, unlike some other inexpensive guitars and basses. The strings that came on it are actually decent, I wore them out, and replaced them with my favorites, but hey, they were not horrible to start with, as so many others at this price point.I got the Crackle finish, and under the lights, some folks are fooled into thinking it REALLY is an old guitar. I do set them straight, and let them know that it is one companies take on these new "instant vintage" look guitars and tell them about others doing it. This leads me to an interesting point. AXL also sells these and all their guitars with a normal new look. They call the basses in that series "Marquee" and they also look nice, so if the "Bad Water" look doesn't do it for you, be aware you can get shiny new looking ones also. I hope Musician's Friend starts carrying these soon. This guitar will not replace my Fender Jazz basses, but, it is a fun alternative to them, and I have used it on stage just to see the reaction, and, it does get one! It is also worth noting that you can get six of these for what EACH of my Jazzes cost, and yet, I'm happy with it. I would recommend this guitar with NO reservations to anyone. Pros know that you get what you pay for, but, I can honestly say with this particular bass guitar, you do get a bit more! Have fun!

I bought this bass as a back-up for my ''gothic t-bird but started using it more because of it's tone and playability.It had to be set-up out of the box but after that,the sound and looks are great,many comments on the looks.The only downside is that the tuners could be better.

I bought this bass not expecting a whole lot more than a decent bass guitar. I was wrong. The price on this bass is outstanding. If you're looking for a P-Bass, don't spend your hard earned money on a Fender...buy this. The finish is incredible. The pickups hum like the EMGs they were designed after. Let me tell you. When this bass arrived at my house, I tuned it down to Drop B and it plays great. Straight out of the box! I've always gotten my guitars professionally set up as soon as I bought them. Not this one though. Granted, it wouldn't hurt to get it set up, but it's find the way it is. As some people have said, the tuning pegs are kind of sticky, but it hasn't bothered me any. You can't beat this thing out of tune. I'll never play another brand. Axl all the way.Buy it.

Got this bass about a month ago and it is without a doubt the favorite over the Fender P bass. Out of the box it played pretty well but needed a little setting up to sing for me. I tour around with a college band over the summer and this has stood up against five shows a week. The look is legit and I have convinced two other bassists to buy it after they played on it for a little bit. The Quality is amazing for such a cheap bass and the sound you get from it is on par with my other bass. Before buying it I was in a dilemma over buying another backup fender or trying my luck with this... my other fender is now second chair to this awesome piece of work. A great buy I would recommend anyone from beginner to pro.

I have had an Epiphone Thunderbird for over 2 years now and I decided I wanted another bass. I came across these and like the way they looked and loved the price. Don't get me wrong, I love my Thunderbird, but I wanted something a little easier on the shoulder to throw around. This fits perfectly. You can get more tonal variety out of this compared to the thunderbird as well, due to the difference in pickups. Cons are the tuning keys seem a bit funky, some are loose, some stick, and it goes out of tune a bit, but no biggie. The wood also feels a bit weak, you can scratch it off with a fingernail, but its survived being thrown around, and this makes it light. Great bass.